Crush your enemies in these amazing strategy games similar to Starcraft!
Once the most popular thing around, the RTS genre seems to be slowly dying out. To combat this tactical drought, we’ve compiled a list of ten titles for you to enjoy while you wait for Legacy of the Void.
12. Total Annihilation (1997)
Without TA there’d have been no Supreme Commander
Developer: Cavedog Entertainment
Genre: Real-time strategy
The Commander is the heart of your force
Join the forces of either CORE or ARM to decide the fate of humanity. The former wishes to turn us all into thinking machines, while the latter disagrees strongly enough to go to war over it.
Total Annihilation is an RTS that puts you in control of a powerful Commander unit that can build bases by himself, and lets you pick your own way to eliminate the opposition. The Commander is not helpless at all, but is best kept safe because losing him is the same as losing the game.
Although only five years younger than the World Wide Web, this old classic still offers solid and varied gameplay today. Unless you don’t feel like tinkering to make it work on newer machines, there’s no reason not to try this fine little piece of history.
11. Universe at War: Earth Assault (2007)
Humans are only playable in the intro missions
Developer: Petroglyph Games
Genre: Real-time strategy
The Novus and Masari factions open fire upon each other
An alien force known as the Hierarchy arrives on Earth and begins eradicating us so it can strip-mine the planet. Their old enemies quickly arrive to fight them here, while a third faction slowly prepares to make its presence known.
Universe at War: Earth Assault was a bold experiment. Its creators gave us an amazing game with three distinct factions (The living machines called Novus, the War of the Worlds reminiscent Hierarchy, and the techno-magical Masari) that completely lacked fully playable humans. The backlash, combined with bad support from the multiplayer service, ended the game’s life way before its time.
This prematurely dead strategy game, though, has more energy and charm to offer than 10 generic multiplayer titles combined. Featuring powerful looking units, homages to nearly every SF trope you can think of, and just about a perfect sound job, Universe at War simply screams for you to play it, if only for just a little bit.
10. Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends (2006)
There’s an entire faction based around the works of Leonardo da Vinci
Developer: Big Huge Games
Genre: Real-time strategy
The units are interesting and unique
Set in fantastic world of Aio, Rise of Legends’ campaign puts you in the role of a nobleman called Giacomo Petruzzo. After his brother is killed by the rabid Doge of Venucci, Giacomo sets out for revenge.
Rise of Legends features three vivid factions to pick from:
- The technology reliant Vinci, inspired by the work of Leonardo da Vinci
- The magically inclined Alin, designed around a middle eastern theme
- The alien civilization of Cuotl, which combines Aztec and SF themes in a striking way
The game also features special heroes, and unique Master units that you can only build one of, but are worth it for the spectacular bloodshed they create.
All in all, an unconventional and artistic RTS game that’s a good choice to snap anyone out of their boredom.
9. Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3 (2008)
Fast paced and brutal
Developer: EA Los Angeles
Genre: Real-time strategy
Naval combat and base building has always been a staple of the series
In an attempt to save themselves from an impending defeat, the Soviets use a time machine to alter the past. Unfortunately, their actions only gave birth to the Japanese Empire of the Rising Sun, guaranteeing that the impending war will be bloodier than anything that came before.
The core concept, though, is still the same. By using a familiar constructive interface, you build up your camp and attempt to rush your opponent before he rushes you. If none of you gets wiped within the first ten minutes or so, then you may proceed toward more advanced weaponry, and the game becomes even crazier.
Red Alert 3 offers the most refined and enjoyable gameplay of any CnC game, period. The units have been well thought out and implemented even better. The naval combat is actually exciting and never feels remotely like a chore. The addition of a third side didn’t hurt the balance one bit. Instead, it only brought more variety.
8. Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars (2007)
The face of the series, Kane
Developer: EA Los Angeles, TransGaming Inc.
Genre: Real-time strategy
CnC, while it was still cool
An alien faction known as the Scrin arrives on the Tiberium-plagued earth, exterminating everything they see for some unknown reason. In this desolate future, GDI and the Brotherhood of Nod both try to fight back the invaders in their own way.
Everything that’s good about Red Alert 3 also goes for Tiberium Wars. The game focuses on breakneck rushes and is a real-time strategy for the action fan. Whoever churns out the most units faster wins the early game, while the late game become and exercise in amusing tactical insanity as superwapons enter the fray.
While Red Alert 3 wins out in terms of polished gameplay, Tiberium Wars offers a more atmospheric experience. The music, the high-tech units, the voice work, it all serves to immerse you into a world on the brink of destruction. It is highly recommended that you at least try the campaigns.
7. Sins of a Solar Empire (2008)
The game plays on a huge scale
Developer: Ironclad Games
Genre: Real-time strategy
Sins is impressive in every way
The TEC (Trader Emergency Coalition), Advent (a religious faction that pursues transhumanism –there will be a link here), and the Vasari (aliens on the run from an unknown enemy) duke it out for control of the galaxy in this amazingly detailed space RTS.
Featuring no single player campaign, SoaSE places you into open space against either a human or AI opponent, where you must expand, gather resources and muster your forces for the inevitable showdown. You can build a large number of different vessels, and your capital ships can even gain experience and advance in levels, unlocking special abilities.
Strategy games based around space combat are nothing new today. But Sins takes what’s best about the genre and incorporates elements from the Total War games, with amazing results. Planetary colonization, diplomacy, leaders (in the form of capital ships) are all here, and anyone who enjoys either 4x games or space action will find themselves right at home.
6. Homeworld Remastered Collection (1999/2015)
Good games last as long as stars
Developer: Relic Entertainment
Genre: Real-time strategy, Real-time tactics, Space simulation
The Mothership, looking better than ever
Having discovered hyperspace technology within the remains of a recently found ship, the people of Kharak decide to build their own and take it on a test jump. When the crew returns, they find their planet burned to a crisp by an unknown enemy.
As you sail across the void of space, you will need to take special care of your mothership, as it hosts most of what’s left of your race, and is used to build the majority of your units. The resources are extremely limited, but every ship that survives a mission is carried over to the next. As the campaign progresses, your enemy will appear more and more, and every little step you’ve made along the way will make a huge different in whether or not your fleet survives.
The first real space-focused RTS game is still incredible today. The various ship models are fun to use and the story packs a powerful emotional punch. Highly recommended, especially in HD.
5. Dawn of War: Dark Crusade (2006)
The most thoroughly satisfying game using the 40k license
Developer: Relic Entertainment
Genre: Real-time strategy
The Emperor’s finest, demonstrating what they do best
Seven opposing factions face off against each other on the doomed world of Kronus, and there can be only one victor.
This game is the culmination of what Relic did well with Dawn of War. The game is fast, addictive, and full of insane fun. Every single force has their own focus, but can work with alternate strategies as well (for instance Chaos prefers melee, but can just as well mow you down with artillery and infiltrated marines). The Requisition gathering system is a constant battle for map control, and is an immensely superior alternative to the resource mining that we’re all used to.
What’s great about Dark Crusade is the fact that despite having a huge number of completely different factions, the game actually works. The balance isn’t completely perfect, though, but the game’s variety more than makes up for it.
4. Supreme Commander (2007)
The biggest RTS of its time is still huge today
Developer: Gas Powered Games
Genre: Real-time strategy
Your own giant killbot that doubles as a construction vehicle
Take part in the Infinite War, a massive conflict between the United Earth Federation, the Cybran Nation (appropriately named cyborgs) and the Aeon Illuminate (alien technology worshippers).
Like in its ideological predecessor, Total Annihilation, Supreme Commander places you into a mighty command unit, here called the Armored Command Unit (or ACU). Your ACU is the backbone of your base, economy and army. The structures it build are used to create more units, that you expectedly march across the massive map in order to exterminate your enemy.
What Supreme Commander does best is making you feel like you’re leading an actual army. The amount of units you can control within a single mission is beyond huge, and your ability to zoom out as far as you want (you can even see the entire map on your screen) creates a sense of scale that few other titles can even hope to match.
3. Warcraft 3 (2002)
As always, humans have the strongest all-in in the game
Developer: Blizzard Entertainment
Genre: Real-time strategy
Humans and orcs fighting to the death, as it should be
The world of Azeroth, still recovering from the last war, is under attack by a demonic force known as the Burning Legion. Humans and orcs must put aside their past differences and fight for their very survival, joined by the mysterious night elves and opposed by the horrifying undead.
The formula we all know and love (use peasant units to gather resources and build structures that churn out combat units) got expanded in an unexpected way, and it’s a good change. Every one of the four factions has itself a selection of heroes that form the basis of your playstyle and grow in power as they kill stuff. If this isn’t enough for you, some maps also have taverns where you can recruit neutral heroes, giving you even more options.
Warcraft III was impressive back when it came out, but what’s even more impressive about it is its legacy. MOBAs, tower defense games, powerful heroes in RTSes, none of it would exist as we know it today if it weren’t for this game. For that, if for nothing else, you owe it to yourself to at least play a few matches from time to time.
2. Etherium (2015)
Etherium does not try to be subtle, and it shouldn’t
Developer: Tindalos Interactive
Genre: Real-time strategy
If sights like this are what you missed, then dig in
Etherium lets you play as one of three factions (The Consortium, the Awakened of Intar, and the Vectides) as they clash over the titular Etherium, a resource of crucial value.
The game itself is a marvelously old-school take on the genre, featuring three radically different main factions and three sub-factions you can ally with for added depth. The title also offers three non-linear single player campaigns (one for each main faction, of course) and an intense multiplayer we all know and love from RTS games.
In an era where developers try to embrace minimalism and realism, it is refreshing to see someone make a strategy game that gives us exactly what we’ve grown to love. Eccentric factions and over-the-top action abound in this thoroughly fun title.
1. Grey Goo (2015)
A video detailing the game’s Goo faction
Developer: Petroglyph Games
Genre: Real-time strategy
The Beta appear strikingly human
In this fresh take on the RTS genre, you take control of either humans, the Beta (an alien species of explorers), or the titular Goo (self-replicating nanobots, there will be a wiki link here)
Grey Goo features an unconventional interface, reminiscent of MOBA games, which has you using the QWERT hotkeys for until control and base management. The factions themselves have their own strengths and weaknesses, (Humans are highly modular and can teleport, the Beta are mobile and defensive, and the Goo needs to consume enemy units in order to form its own) and you will get the chance to learn them during the campaign.
Although the aforementioned campaign is somewhat brief, the game itself looks and plays great, and the titular faction is loads of fun. If you’re a fan of either old or new, give Grey Goo a try. It will not disappoint.
